U.S. ENVOY SNUBBED

Bosnians Refuse To Sign Cease-fire

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — The Bosnian government refused to sign a cease-fire Monday, disregarding urgings of U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke and a military rebound by the rebel Serb army.

"We are right where we were last time we saw you," said Holbrooke after his latest meeting with President Alija Izetbegovic and Foreign Minister Muhamed Sacirbey. "We're not making progress, we're not losing ground."

"The talks will go on," Holbrooke added.

Bosnia's government has refused to cease hostilities in the region after posting significant military gains in Bosnian Serb territory last month. Government officials expected to use the advance as a bargaining lever during future peace talks, but its usefulness may be on the wane.

The UN reported Monday that the rebel Serbs had greatly strengthened their lines and were making a concerted push to recapture some of the 1,400 square miles of territory in north and northwestern Bosnia recently lost to the Bosnian forces and their Croat allies.

The Bosnian Serbs have recaptured several miles along the Una River and have advanced to within about a mile of the government-held town of Otoka in western Bosnia, said United Nations military spokeswoman Maj. Myriam Sochacki.

Otoka is half-way between the government town of Bosanska Krupa and the rebel town of Bosanski Novi. The rebels also appeared to be clearing some of the area around the Serb-held town of Sanski Most.

"The Bosnian Serbs have developed good defense lines all along the river and are slowly moving the confrontation line forward," Sochacki said. "There appears to be a lot of military activity in this area."

Government forces, meanwhile, continued their push towards Mrkonjic Grad, the last remaining Serb-held town on a road leading from Sarajevo to Bihac.

But they were fighting in difficult terrain and their progress was uncertain.

The Serbs have proposed to freeze the confrontation lines where they stand, but the government has resisted truce negotiations. Among its demands are that the rebels provide a corridor to the government-held enclave of Gorazde in eastern Bosnia and demilitarize the Serb city of Banja Luka.

The government also wants the Bosnian Serbs to restore utilities to Sarajevo. This appeared to have been partially accomplished Monday, with Russia pledging to open the valves that provide natural gas to the region. The Serbs also had requested the move; natural gas is a main form of winter heating in Bosnia and neighboring Serbia.

UN officials and Western military analysts said the strengthening of rebel Serb lines puts the Bosnian government in a delicate position, one that could soon bring them closer to the negotiating table.

Much of the Bosnian army's muscle during its autumn offensive came from Croatian artillery fired by Bosnian Croat troops. Croatia has pledged it won't resume fighting in Bosnia.

"The Bosnian government is not going to be in a situation to continue making demands if the Serbs really decide to push back on the battlefield," said one UN official. "They are losing territory and the Croatian government isn't going to help them get it back this time."

The Bosnian Croats are tenuous allies with the Bosnian government and would be joined in a federation under any peace deal. But UN officials note they have tended to seize territory important to their own interests, often hoisting Croatian flags in towns they have recaptured.

"There's been some haggling between the two recently," said Paul Beaver, a senior military analyst with Janes Defense Information Group in London.

Holbrooke remained guardedly optimistic that peace talks would stay on track despite the continued fighting. He is scheduled for talks Tuesday in the Croatian capital of Zagreb and then Belgrade, Yugoslavia, before returning to Sarajevo.

"In many wars there's been fighting and peace talks simultaneously," he said. But, "it's wasteful. . . . People die and people are made homeless while peace talks continue. We think the fighting should stop."